


Doing It For You

by GraVirTy (Estirose), TiRaven (Estirose)



Category: Power Rangers R.P.M.
Genre: F/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2017-10-30 18:02:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/334558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/GraVirTy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/TiRaven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He'd do anything for her, including have her child. Mpreg. Ziggy/Dr. K, part of my "Let's back everything up that's on fanfiction.net" project.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Um... this is mostly here because I wanted to make sure it was somewhere other than fanfiction.net. It a bit weird because it's a het story with mpreg, which I think is more than a little odd. But then again, I am a little odd (and sometimes choose equally odd ways to work through my issues). The first part is chapters 1-6 of the ffn posted version.

The sunniest day in forever was shining down on the couple coming out of the hospital, which was too bad, because woman of the couple was frowning.

"Don't worry, Kay," the man said, brushing a curly lock out of his face. "Just because you can't have kids doesn't mean that we're not going to have any." He tried to keep things happy and cheerful for her, because she'd been through so much in her life. Heck, she didn't even have a real name, which was a problem when it came time to marry, but it didn't bother him! They'd found one, the two of them had gotten married, and as far as Ziggy Grover was concerned, he had the best life in what remained of the world.

His wife, and former mentor, fixed him with a frown that he'd mostly seen on her in the olden days, when he'd been new to Rangering and the whole defending the city thing, and not quite willing to put his life on the line for Corinth. Actually, she'd frowned at him a lot during his time as a Ranger, but that didn't matter. She'd fallen in love with him in the end, hadn't she? That had made it all worth it.

She didn't want to have kids, really, but she saw the advantage of passing on her genes. He was the one that wanted a family, and lots of kids to take care of. Yes, they had the school, but they didn't have kids of their own.

And if he had to be the one to give birth to them, hell, he didn't mind! Kay deserved a big, long break after everything that had happened to her, and everything that she'd done to save the world. Just because guys normally left the childbearing to women didn't mean that they didn't have the apparatus; it was just a lot easier for women to give birth.

"You are not precisely designed for a pregnancy," she pointed out.

"Nope! But I'll do it." He really didn't want her to change her mind on the kid thing, which she still could do. It had taken a lot of his charm and flattering to get her to agree to even thinking about having a family, after all that had happened to her. He suspected that having a normal life was the thing that got to her. That, and he promised to take care of the childcare while she worked. "It might take some in-vitro stuff, but…."

He knew that if anyone would be able to get their in-vitro paid for, it was the two of them. He wasn't the only one that wanted Kay to have a kid, he was just the one who genuinely cared about her. And wanted the kid to have as normal a life as possible. Did it really matter, in the end, who was the mommy?

"You are aware that carrying my child will subject you to a lot of scrutiny." She looked over at him as if he hadn't thought things through. But he had! He was good at thinking on his feet, and he was really, really good at avoiding things. Well, he'd never had to dodge nosy scientists, doctors, and military personnel who wanted to make sure Kay had healthy kids, but he figured he'd get it right fast.

"Yeah, but I'm the one that wants the kid in the first place. I'm the one that's going to care for them. I might as well be the one that has it." It certainly made sense to him, even if it didn't make sense to her. But he was aware he'd gotten really lucky that they'd met and fell in love, and he'd do almost anything for her. Even illegal things.

He wanted to make her smile, that was it. He wanted to see her eyes alight with the idea that she could have a normal life, it was a good thing for her, and that she'd be happy this way. He'd be the one who played with the kid, and she could pretend to be what she'd never gotten to be, with the way she'd been raised in that creepy facility and all.

She looked at him and let out a breath that might have been a sigh. "I expect you to behave in a manner that allows the child to be born healthy."

"Hey, I eat healthy," he protested. "I eat healthier than you do." That may not have been the world's wisest thing to say, he realized after a second, but at least he hadn't done something really stupid and said the word "spandex" in her presence.

"While I realize that you do maintain healthy eating habits, and indeed did when you were a Ranger, such a pregnancy would no doubt be a strain on your system." He wasn't surprised that she felt she had to point this out, because it would be a strain on him. It wasn't something he looked forward to, and he'd never even think of having a child for anybody else but her.

"It's worth it." Sure, they'd have to talk to someone who knew how to in-vitro on a guy, but he was willing to do it. Plus, it wasn't like he didn't know that there was some pressure on Kay to have a kid, especially since she had a husband. He wanted to get rid of that stress on her.

She glanced up at him with a look that said that she doubted his sanity, but that wasn't at all weird. She doubted his sanity a lot. He'd just have to convince her that him carrying the child was the best thing in the world for them. He'd do it. Because they should be a normal family.

And if he had any doubts, he'd never tell her, because he didn't want her to worry. Or get sick trying to find a solution. He swore when they got married that he'd do his best not to cause her problems, and he was going to hold to it.

/8/8/8/8

Scheduling an appointment wasn't hard at all, but then again, Ziggy wasn't surprised. The government wanted a kid with the famous Doctor K's genes, and it was more than willing to have Ziggy carrying it if he wanted to.

The two of them had a consultation with a guy who was well-versed in male pregnancies, a grey-haired man named Dr. Poe who had a bad tendency to stroke his beard like a cartoon villain, which didn't give Ziggy a whole lot of confidence about him. "It's rare to have the man in a heterosexal couple become pregnant," the doctor had said. "Too much risk."

And then he'd explained everything they had to do and watch for and deal with, and Ziggy was starting to reconsider the entire thing. Maybe he didn't want to do it after all. He had to wonder what the people paying for this would say about that, but had to remember that if worst came to worst, they could probably find a surrogate. That's what the government probably wanted anyway for a healthy baby. He was thinking of ways to say "no, thank you, I think we'll do a surrogate" when the doctor started praising him for his choice to do such a difficult thing, and that he was sure that even though it was hard, as a retired Ranger, he'd be more ready than most men for it.

Before Ziggy could really protest, Dr. Poe's front desk was scheduling him for an examination so that they would know how to proceed and Kay for what they needed on her end. But that was no problem. He'd talk to his wife and then he'd tell Doctor Poe that they weren't going through with it, and that would be the end of it, except for the whole surrogate thing. They'd need to get reproductive stuff from him and Kay anyway.

/8/8/8/8

"I'm not sure about this," Ziggy said to his wife after they returned home. "I guess there's a lot of stuff involved."

"As I said, you should expect intense scrutiny if you are bearing my child." She looked at him as if she'd expected him to do the research, which he had to admit he hadn't. That was her strong point, after all. "And, after doing said research, which includes consulting with experts, you decide that you do not wish to do so, then I will respect your decision."

Of course she would, he realized after he looked at her for a moment. She hadn't wanted the kid, he had, and he'd been the one to convince her to have one, therefore it was his responsibility. If he wanted to have a child, he was the one to have it. Or convince her that they could do a surrogate. "I'm thinking of using a surrogate." He thought of a little girl that so much resembled her mother except that this time they'd make sure that the government didn't get their hands on her. Or maybe the kid would turn out like her dumb old dad and they wouldn't have to worry about anything.

"It's your choice; you have declared yourself to be the primary parent in raising the child, after all." It was nice that she was leaving it up to him. She could have just said that she wasn't going through this and that was it, but at least she realized that he liked kids and wanted a family. And it would get him out of her hair.

"Then I guess I'll just tell the doctors the news." He was sure they'd take it well. After all, as Dr. Poe had said, it was safer to have a woman have the kid.

And if it turned out he was making a stupid decision? Kay would remind him that it was his choice and his responsibility. She was great at that, after all.

/8/8/8/8

The doctor greeting him at the exam was not Doctor Poe at all, but a portly man that reminded him uncomfortably of Fresno Bob, except that Ziggy was sure that the doctor still had all his hair."Mr. Grover? I'm Dr. Bradford. I'm sorry that I wasn't there the other day for your consultation, but I'm teaming with Doctor Poe to make sure your pregnancy goes smoothly."

"Well," Ziggy said, feeling bad that they'd gotten all ready for this and he was going to tell them that he'd made other plans, "I'm thinking that maybe Kay and I want to do a surrogate on this. Just because it's so risky."

"Mike does tend to be a little alarmist," Doctor Bradford assured him. "You were a Ranger, you're pretty damn sturdy. And with my expertise and Mike's, you don't have to worry at all. I've studied all I can on the effects of DNA bonding on you and the other Rangers from Doctor K's records." He patted Ziggy on the arm. "I frankly wouldn't be comfortable with the child of a Ranger being carried by someone who's not. You're all too changed by your morphers."

"We are?" It was the first that Ziggy had ever heard of it, and he was married to the woman! But he wasn't a medical doctor either, and this guy was supposed to be a specialist.

"Yes. In some ways, your wife's internal problems probably saved her." He smiled again at Ziggy. He still reminded him too much of Fresno Bob. "Mike'll get you pregnant and I'll make sure you and the kid turn out okay. Okay?"

Ziggy groaned at the joke. He'd done way better jokes in his time.

"And despite that really bad joke – and I know that was really, really bad and I'm sorry – I promise, I'm going to support you one hundred percent. Mike is right, you're going to have to take very, very good care of yourself, but trust me, I'm going to be on call for you. This is probably going to be the most important baby ever born since the world ended, and we're going to make sure that you have backup. Okay?"

"Okay," Ziggy said, but he had his doubts. He'd have to talk to Kay, make sure everything was really all right. Maybe the doctor was wrong. After all, Kay knew best about the morphers and their effects on the human body!

"So, let's start the exam," Dr. Bradford told him, reaching for a tool.

/8/8/8/8

When he went home, he found his wife grading papers. She was very harsh on her students, but he was used to that – after all, she'd been really harsh on her Rangers, too. "I just went to the doctor."

He didn't expect much out of her, because he'd been stating the obvious, and this was his thing, not hers. He wasn't even surprised when it took her a few minutes to respond.

"Yes?" she asked.

"He says there's something weird that happened to us when we became Rangers, and so normal people can't have kids with us really well. Or at least it's not safe for non-Rangers to carry Rangers' kids."

Okay, maybe he wasn't explaining things very well. Sometimes he could feel like a really big idiot when he tried to talk to her. He could see her frowning, and it wasn't at the paper she was grading. No, she was frowning at him.

"While I did not specifically do research into the reproductive repercussions of Project Ranger, I do not see why that should be the case. However, morpher bonding does rewrite portions of your DNA code, so it is possible. Just unlikely.

"Wait a minute, what?" Ziggy asked, not sure he wanted to hear what he was hearing. "It did what?"

"Rewrote portions of your code," she said simply. "But as I said, that should not have affected your reproductive abilities..."

Ziggy had to sit down after that.

/8/8/8/8

Kay explained it to him, in what she figured must have been small enough words, but enough to tell him that he really, really didn't want to know. "So," he said finally, "We were kinda made more compatible with our powers, then?" the thought weirded him out.

Especially as he now had to think of the health of his kid and how it would affect them. He wasn't as worried about himself or what the changes had done to him, but he wanted his kid to be okay and not affected by what mommy's device had done to daddy.

"Basically, yes," his wife told him.

"I'll, um, keep that in mind," he said.

/8/8/8/8

That said, him getting pregnant was pretty involved, but the actual getting pregnant part was easy. It was had to believe that he was pregnant at first, because he was already taking the hormones he needed, and so other than being knocked out to implant the egg, it didn't really feel like he was pregnant.

There were a long list of instructions he had to follow, which didn't surprise him. At all. Medications he had to take, medications he couldn't take, things he couldn't eat and things. He had to have a lot of exercise, regular checkups, and of course they gave Kay a whole list of items to watch out for as well.

Given how she'd acted when he was a Ranger, he had no doubt she'd be watching him closely too, just to make sure he obeyed every. Single. Last. Instruction. Mostly because of the strain on him.

But he didn't mind! He was going to be a father! Well, a father and a mother. He knew that he was going to have kids someday, and this was the best way to do it. It put less strain on Kay, and it was better for their baby. For one thing, he had a clue about a healthy diet. For another, he had Kay there to male sure he didn't slip.

Of course, it would be hard on him, but what was a little sacrifice in the name of love?

/8/8/8/8

He returned to teaching soon after getting pregnant. He saw no reason not to, because there was plenty of time before he really started showing. Plus, he wanted to spend as much time with his students before he faced the possibility of being put on bed rest. Which was a real possibility, he had to admit.

But that was months and months away. He wouldn't worry about it until he had to, because he was sure if he thought about it too much, he would stress out, and that wouldn't be good for him or the child.

"Plenty of rest, plenty of exercise," he muttered to himself. Those were the biggies in his life at the moment. He wondered how he was going to explain things to the kids when he did start showing, but he definitely had plenty of time before that.

He knew that the giddiness he felt would wear off soon, so he might as well take advantage of it while he still had it. He wanted to shout to everyone who could hear that he was carrying the child for the most important woman in the world. Somehow, he restrained himself, but he really, really wanted to.

Ziggy wondered if he should tell the others. Sure, Dillon, Summer, and Tenaya were out exploring the Wastelands, but he should probably tell the rest of the team.

In the meantime, there were days to enjoy. Moments to document for the kid. He should get out his camera, do some talking. He turned back to head home, when suddenly a set of men swarmed out of a pair of vans he hadn't realized were there.

Fighting humans was a lot different than fighting Grinders, he found as he tried to get away from the horde for just long enough to get himself to safety. He fumbled for the alarm that Kay insisted he carry, just in case he ran into trouble. He was thankful for how cautious she'd been when he was able to reach the pocket it was in and press it.

But then he was surrounded by men. Overwhelmed. Something was pressed against his face, and he tried not to breathe in and keep coherent. The longer he could fight, the longer someone had to come back him up and get him out of there.

Being a Ranger had taught him that having teammates was the best thing in the world, and having at least backup was a really, really good idea.

However, as his world dimmed, he realized that he might not last long enough for help to come.

/8/8/8/8

Ziggy woke up in a white room, in a hospital-style bed. The room was fairly featureless, with a pair of doors, one opposite his bed and one to the right. There was an open doorway to his left, cabinets off to one side.

Sitting up, he twisted around to check out the instrumentation. Yep, it was a hospital bed. Which meant that they expected to need it. Which meant that he'd been kidnapped for the baby. There were no doubt restraints for him too. They were obviously going to keep him there for the entire pregnancy.

"Patient G616, you are awake." The statement was matter-of-fact, emotionless as Kay had never been, even when she'd been pretending to be a computer voice. The voice was obviously female, but he bet that this time, it really was a computer. "Remain silent, as important information will be conveyed to you.

"You are situated in Medical Facility 2. You have been given a thorough medical exam prior to your return to consciousness. You have been brought here because your situation is of importance and it has been deemed a medical necessity to keep you here. You are advised to follow all medical advice and participate in all required medical procedures. Failure to do so may result in loss of privileges.

"You have been granted access to a suite of rooms. You may leave your bed and explore those now. You are not permitted outside of them without escort. Your daily schedule will be available on the built-in monitors in the walls. If you are in need of medical assistance, you can alert a medical team by the blue button on your headboard or similar buttons in your rooms. That is all."

Ziggy had listened to the whole thing, mostly because he'd found that captors liked the sound of their own voices and that interrupting them just annoyed them. Plus, sometimes they said useful things. He now knew that he was being held because of Kay's baby, and with the tech, it was likely that they were somewhere in or near Corinth, because of the level of technology involved.

Which meant that he could be found and rescued. He had no doubt that Kay would notice he was missing soon, which meant that someone would be looking for him. He couldn't see Scott or Flynn ignoring the fact that one of their teammates was kidnapped, and the same for Dillon and Summer had they been in town.

There was one thing to be said about being married to one of the most important people in Corinth: people noticed when you went missing. Especially when you were carrying said person's child.

And if he suspected right, they wanted this child very badly. Badly enough to hold him for nine months. He'd probably want to try to escape once or twice, just to keep them on their toes, but otherwise, he was sure the others would rescue him.

"Y'know," he said to the room, knowing the people monitoring him would hear, "The kid'll probably take after her dumb ol' dad."

He grinned to himself and started to explore the rooms. The open doorway lead to a bathroom with a shower. One door was locked, but the other one let him into a living room-dining room area. Two more doors off of that led him to a small gym and what was clearly meant to be some kind of garden, though it wasn't really because half the plants were trying to die.

Ziggy hoped that they'd take better care of him. Or at least took good care of him while they had him; he didn't plan to be there very long.

/8/8/8/8

Of course, rescue was taking longer than expected, or so it felt to Ziggy after a few days. At least his captors had let him alone, for the most part. They served him meals through a hatch system in the dining room. After being admonished once for not eating everything, he held off provoking them, though if they continued to serve what they were serving, he might have to. Just so that someone would come in.

And it wasn't the world's most terrible experience, he had to admit. Sure, he couldn't leave, but his captors had, strangely enough, seen to a bit of comfort. The furniture in the small living room was obviously meant to be relaxed in, including a reclining chair. There were books in the bookcases, and a video player. At times, soft music was pumped into the suite, especially during mealtimes.

It was like they didn't want him to stress in captivity. Which was a far cry from all the time he spent in prison.

The screen in the living area beeped. "Sample collection period," the voice said. "Return to your sleeping area for sample collection."

"I'm in the middle of a book," he complained, though it was really because he could.

"Return to your sleeping area within three minutes," the voice said, as if in response. "Failure to comply will result in consequences, including loss of access to non-sleeping areas."

Ziggy let out a large, theatrical sigh and headed into the bedroom. He was curious himself how it would be handled, since he kind of had to wonder if there were live humans in the installation. Probably were.

He headed off into his bedroom, and was somewhat surprised to see a woman in scrubs, mask, and goggles waiting there with medical instruments on a tray. "So, sample collection," he said. Sharp needles made him vaguely anxious.

"Yes," she said. He hadn't expected her to speak. "Please sit down." She motioned at his bed. "I need to collect blood samples on a regular basis to ensure that you don't have any problems that we need to be aware of. This is a high-risk pregnancy, after all."

She was comfortingly human, with a soft, gentle voice with none of the computer voice's angry authority. He suspected that it was part of the whole "don't stress the expectant father" deal.

"I didn't think I was that important," he said. If he read her right and the caring was not a facade, that would make it easier to worm himself into her heart.

"You're carrying the most important baby in the world right now," she said. "Your health is of the utmost importance to us. We want her to be born safely, after all."

So, the baby was important, not him. He figured as much. "You know, the baby has as much chance of taking after me as Kay."

"You underestimate yourself and your genes," the woman said simply. "Hold out your arm, and feel free to look away."

He did, and he felt the coolness of an alcohol-laden swab across the inside of his elbow before the needle penetrated his skin, and tried to breathe deeply as the needle remained.

Then it was gone, and there was cotton being pressed to the wound. "There, done."

"Oh." He dared look again. It wasn't too bad. "But I could have taken care of myself."

"Others think otherwise," she said, putting her equipment back on the tray. "There are good reasons for keeping you here. Just relax and let us take care of you for a while, m'kay?"

He didn't mention the fact that he was likely to be rescued long before then. "Okay." Persuasion had always been his strong point. Conning people. "Do I get to see you again?"

There was a smile under her mask. "Of course you will."

"Oh, good." More chances to charm her. Kay could kill him later for charming his way out of there. "Do you have a name?"

She was silent for a moment. "Call me Dr. Park. Melissa Park."

"That isn't your real name at all." he observed. He could tell from her slight hesitance that she wasn't used to lying about it. Good.

Shaking her head, she said, "No, but I like it anyway."

If he seemed to be cooperative, she'd let things slip. She wasn't the type to be a good liar. "Okay."

She patted him gently on the arm. "I'm going to put some educational materials on the video system for you, so you know what's going on with your body, okay? But in the meantime, I need you to go to the living room."

"Right." They were too tense about him trying to escape at the moment. He would have to lull them and charm Melissa before he could do a decent escape attempt.

At least he was the captive one, not Kay. Probably they wouldn't need to hold her like they did him, but he couldn't imagine Kay taking at all well to being there. It would probably break her, and she'd suffered enough. Ziggy would do anything for her to save her from being hurt again, and it wasn't like he wouldn't be rescued soon anyway from this involuntary hospitalization.

Keeping that in mind, he slipped into the living room, waiting for his captors to make a mistake.

/8/8/8/8

He awoke to darkness. It wasn't the first time he had, but the sensors or whatever that realized he was awake seemed to fail every so often, if only for a few seconds.

Ziggy tried to think about where he could be that the power was failing, even for a few seconds. Maybe he was outside the dome, where electricity wasn't so reliable, relying on the remoteness of his location to keep anyone from finding him, including Kay. Kay was good at finding things that were impossible to find, but it wasn't like he had a tracking device implanted in him or anything that she could use to find him.

Until the others could get him out of there, however, he had to work on it himself. Sure, they were being careful with him, but he knew that eventually they'd slip up.

Hey! Maybe he could use the power outage to his advantage. He slipped out of bed, shuffling into the slippers his hosts had provided for him, and started to work on the door. He knew a bit about doors, automatic ones, and how to get them open even if they didn't want to be opened or someone didn't want you to open them.

And if the power was out, so much the better. Sure, the motors were probably knocked out, but Ziggy could probably pry the door open. Locks were simple things if you had the right tools.

The fact that Ziggy didn't have any tools didn't matter; he'd find some and get himself out of there. Heading back into the 'living room' of his living area, he started thinking fast about what was where. Nothing really leant itself to lockpicking - and the locks were probably electronic anyway - so he headed back. The door really didn't lend itself to being pulled open - there was nothing he could get a hold of to slide it out - so he had to look for some kind of release. There had to be a manual release, right? Just because they'd kidnapped him didn't mean they didn't follow government safety instructions.

Wait… Kay had showed him things like that, just in case. She didn't want him getting stuck because of his relationship with her, especially with her whole background and all. So he started feeling around the door.

He struck paydirt a few seconds later. If the place wasn't a government installation, it was certainly built like one, or at least one Kay knew.

The manual lever in the doorframe released the door, which clicked quietly and allowed him to pull it open. It took a bit of doing, given that he was out of practice and all and that he was carrying another life, but he gradually got it open. After a moment, he pulled it closed as much as he could, trying to keep people from noticing their patient-prisoner had escaped.

He was even less in practice when it came to sneaking about, though he tried to remember that long-ago skill that private school teachers weren't really supposed to know.

But private school teachers who were married to famous scientists and were famous on their own sometimes knew skills that they weren't supposed to, especially when it came to skills from their past.

So slowly and even more slowly Ziggy inched his way down the corridor, freezing when he heard voices.

"Marie, think you can jump-start the generator or something like that?" one male voice asked.

"Not unless you want to have the place go up in flames, my dear," an older, grandmotherly voice answered.

A third voice. "When was the last time that happened?" Female voice, amused.

"Well, let's see... that would be the last time I worked retail, I believe. I think it involved a few fire trucks and a very unhappy Corinth military." The woman was silent for a moment. "I believe my ex-boss told me that the company logo was not to be taken as a suggestion on what to do with the store. And then the government recruited me."

"That must have been a long time ago," the younger woman said, a tone of admiration in her voice.

"A very long time ago, dear."

"Wait a second, aren't we in the ward area?" the man asked.

"Last I checked," the younger woman asked. "Why?"

"Door's ajar. Should we check to see if the inhabitant's there and okay?"

"We're not trained to restrain patients," the young woman said. "And can you imagine Marie restraining anybody?"

"I could set them on fire," Marie said helpfully.

"I... don't think that's a good thing. Let's just tell the people who would know what to do." The man's voice was uncertain; an underling, a minor player. Like him, a long time ago.

Ziggy heard the man reporting in as he slipped away.

He had no idea of where he was going, but at least he could just make out exit signs. Pictographic ones, to be sure, but exit signs. He slipped out each exit door as he ran across them.

As he slipped through his fourth and went to hug another wall, he touched flesh, and someone screamed.

"Who are you?" the owner asked, and he placed her after a second.

"Doctor Park?" he asked, the words slipping out.

"Wait- you're patient G616!"

So much for charming her before, though Kay'd had feelings for him and still called him by his Ranger designation for a really long time after she'd dropped it for the others. He might have a chance, especially if he could get her to think of him as Ziggy and not a number. It reminded him too much of whenever one of Venjix's lackeys had run across Dillon and insisted on calling him "D-44", much to his displeasure.

"Yeah. And I'm leaving. Can you show me the way out?"

She took an audible deep breath. "I don't think that's a good idea in your condition."

"I'm pregnant, not helpless." He'd been a Ranger! He could handle almost anything.

"But if you go back, and if you miscarry like you did- oh, shit."

"I miscarried?" he didn't remember doing anything like that.

"You did in your original timeline," Dr. Park said, her tones becoming more soothing by the moment. "Come on, let me take you back to where you were, okay?"

"Waitaminute. Original timeline?"

"Somebody is going to fricking kill me," she muttered. "G- Ziggy. You're in your future. You understand? You're in your future. You have no place to escape to."

Ziggy froze.

/8/8/8/8

"Where are we?" he asked Doctor Park. "Other than the future, I mean." He could only think of how hard his teammates and Kay were looking for him, and how they wouldn't find him if Doctor Park was telling the truth.

She sighed, sliding down the wall until she was almost sitting down. He joined her. "I can't tell you exactly - because that would mess up your future - but we're on a town site that would be in the wastelands in your time."

"That… doesn't tell me much." Actually, it didn't tell him anything at all.

"It's not supposed to. Just know that humanity's reclaiming the areas lost to Venjix. That's the important part."

"You probably can't tell me how far I am in the future, either," Ziggy said. That would make sense. He'd read a few science fiction novels when he was a kid.

"Not really," she said, running at a spot just below her shoulder. "But we started in Corinth - some of our original members were in Corinth when it was domed."

Ziggy remembered the woman who had mentioned the Corinth military and how old she'd sounded. "A long time ago, eh?" The woman probably hadn't been that young when she'd been recruited into the group, though.

"Some of our people have been around for decades." Park shook her head.

"Like the old woman who starts fires." If one angle wasn't working, he'd try another.

"Old wo- oh, Marie Brown. Yes. She's been with us for a while. You won't be able to find her, by the way."

He made a note of the name anyway, just in case. "So… um… you folks have time travel."

"Somewhat. But don't worry, we'll be able to get you and the baby home when it's time." Dr. Park seemed to be regaining some of her equilibrium.

"Couldn't you have stopped Venjix?" Ziggy asked plaintively. If they hadn't, there had to be some reason. Because nobody would want to prevent the destruction of most of the planet by a sentient virus, if they had a choice. He hoped being calm would get her to relax her guard and tell him things he shouldn't know.

Maybe Kay was rubbing off on him. He was thinking things through. Of course, he had always really thought things through.

"No, we can't go back that far." She held up a hand. "I can't give you details G-Ziggy. I'm sorry. We would have stopped Venjix, if we could have. In the meantime, the more important thing is making sure you carry safely to term."

She was trying to shift the conversation. "Why is it so important that I have the kid?" he asked.

"I can't tell you. Honestly, I don't know." She shook her head. "But I know it's important. So important that it was considered necessary to take you from the past - risky enough as it is - and isolate you here. We didn't do that lightly, I know that for sure."

Ziggy shivered.

"You're cold," she declared. "Let me get you a blanket. We have to keep you safe."

"I'd rather be out of here," he told her.

He could see her smile. "Yes, but that's not going to happen. You'll return when it's safe for you to return. You don't want to risk the baby, do you? You're not stupid; I know you were bright enough to escape from your room, or you wouldn't be here."

Ziggy had the feeling that she was doing what she could to get him back in his room and away from escaping. But he couldn't not try to escape. Kay and the others had to be worried sick. If he really was in the future... well, he'd deal with that when he got out of the place. "It was nothing, I'm good at that sort of thing." Which was why he had to get out of there before they made it so he couldn't leave. "I have to admit I am kinda cold, though. You guys normally have this many power outages?"

"There are some power fluctuations, but I don't know why we're completely powerless." She shook her head. "In the meantime, let's get you back to your room and under some blankets."

"I could stay here and you can get me a blanket." He smiled winningly at her.

"Nice try, but I'm not stupid," she said, still smiling a little. "Even if kids didn't learn about you in school, those of us involved in your care were extensively briefed about you. We knew it wasn't impossible for you to find a way out of your room - we were prepared for that. One way or another, you would have been caught."

In other words, the best time to get out was there and then, when any technological measures were knocked out. "I'm under extensive surveilance, then." Which wasn't at all new to him - Kay had cameras everywhere in the Garage.

"Of course. You're critical, Ziggy Grover, and while you might not like being confined, it's for your own good."

Ziggy could have rolled his eyes at that, but he didn't. What he had to do now was lose Doctor Park. "Thanks for telling me that, Dr. Park."

"You're welcome. Now let's get you back, shall we?"

He got up. She unfolded herself, and he gave her a grin.

And then he ran. "Sorry, Doc," he called. It reminded him of all the times he'd referred to Kay by that nickname, and wondered if it bothered Dr. Park - or whatever her real name was - as well.

"Come back here!" he heard her cry. "You don't know what you're doing?"

To be honest, he didn't know what he was doing. But he wasn't about to stop, either. If he was going to get out of there, he couldn't. He hoped they didn't remember that he was in very good shape because he'd kept to the routines Scott and the others had taught him when he'd started as a Ranger years ago. It had mostly been because he thought it might not be a bad idea, just in case they were ever called into action again.

Now he was using it to get himself free so he could go home. It occurred to him that Dr. Park had been lying the whole time as a way to get him to stop fighting. Or he could be in the future, but even then there had to be a way to get back to his time. He didn't care, as long as he got back to Kay and the others.

He heard her yelling something about "G616, code sapphire", and wondered if communications was up or if she was yelling down the line, hoping someone would hear and repeat. It could go either way.

As he ran down the corridor, looking for the next exit, he could hear the words echoed by different people and different voices. He wondered how many of them knew who he was and what he could do to make sure they didn't catch him again.

He turned to the next exit. It was only after trying to dash through that he realized that someone was standing in the doorway. He staggered, and a hand reached out to steady him.


	2. Chapter 2

It was only after a moment that Ziggy realized that the hand steadying him belonged to someone familiar. Someone very familiar, who in fact was his doctor. In his home time. Which shouldn't have happened, since Marie Brown was very old and she'd traveled through time the long way, and shouldn't Dr. Bradford have been very old at this point? 

"Ziggy," Doctor Bradford said warmly, "It's good to see you again. Finally."

Ziggy leaned back a little. "Good to see you too, Doc. What are you doing here?"

The man shrugged. "I'm walking down the street to that little Italian restaurant down off of Beacon St, next to Eliot House. Suddenly, I get grabbed and next thing I know, I'm here because I'm your obstetrician." 

Not knowing where that was - okay, he kind of knew where Beacon was, given it was right downtown, but nothing other than that - Ziggy just nodded.

"Here, let's have you sit down. Until you and I find a way out of here, we've got to plan our moves." He motioned at a patch of floor out of Ziggy's sight, but Ziggy would take anything at the moment. Dr. Bradford seemed to be on his side, at least, though Ziggy knew that he couldn't completely trust the man. After all, he himself had run a fair amount of cons, and he'd looked fairly trustworthy, after all. "It sounds like people know you're out of the room at least."

"Yeah." Ziggy watched his doctor carefully.

"Do you know there's time travel involved?" Dr. Bradford asked.

"I got told that, yeah." Dr. Bradford seemed to be watching him as intently as he was watching Dr. Bradford.

"I haven't been able to find out very much about the method, though they did offer to send me back, if I wanted. But you're my patient, so I couldn't just abandon you here, even if they haven't let me see you yet. Dr. Thornton's been the one taking care of you instead."

"Thornton?" Ziggy asked. It sounded like a name out of a soap opera. 

"Yes, Dr. Emeline Thornton. They were going to use me to convince you that we were still in our original time period, but... well... didn't happen."

"How far in the future are we, Doc?" It wasn't like he had a clue, and Dr. Bradford was right - they did have to figure things out. Not that Dr. Park - Dr. Emeline Thornton - was a bad person, but he wanted back home, thanks.

"Can't be more than fifty years, probably. There's a woman here that is a friend of a friend - at least until she disappeared a few months ago, our time. Marie Brown."

"Haven't met her, heard her voice." It wasn't at all surprising that Dr. Bradford knew someone who knew someone. It was how things worked, after all. 

"She was somewhere in her early thirties, and I think she said something about being in her eighties here, so I'd say fifty years." Dr. Bradford was nodding at that. "In any case, probably the best thing we can both do is let me do some researching while you let these people take care of you for a little bit. I don't want you or the fetus to get hurt on the way back home." He poked at Ziggy's stomach. 

"I'm not keen on getting hurt, but I want to get out of here." It wasn't like that was something Dr. Bradford or anybody else couldn't easily guess.

"I feel the same. Let me act like I found you and caught you." Dr. Bradford Craned his head around the doorway. "Ah, Na-yeong! I need your help!"

A young woman rushed over to them. "Yes, Doctor Bradford?" she asked.

"Ziggy, this is Na-yeong Han, and she and I will be taking you back to your room, okay?" Dr. Bradford said with a smile. "Ms. Han is very nice, you're like her, just cooperate." He gave the woman a small bow with a flourish.

"Let me help you," the woman said, and Ziggy glanced at Dr. Bradford, hoping that the man could get them both out of there.


End file.
